Getting "The Shot"

Sometimes, the shot that  you set out to get isn't the shot that you end up with...but the one you get ends up being so much better than anything you ever could have planned!

Tonight I headed out to our pond to take some photos of the geese for a 30 day photo challenge (the theme today was "Animals"). The light was fading quickly, and unfortunately the location of the geese just wasn't thrilling me. The photos I shot were ok

...but not great. It just wasn't working, even with different angles, apertures, etc.
 It was only when checking the screen (yes, I "chimp" to make sure the photo looks the way I want!) that I noticed something I had not seen previously. Check out the upper part of the photo below, by the tree - see the deer outlined there?

I really wanted to capture that deer instead, but of course I didn't have my telephoto lens with me, and as I moved around the pond, the deer ran off. My eye caught two white somethings moving up the hillside, and I realized it was two new deer. I found a spot to settle in, and waited to capture just the right moment...and it happened!

While my settings may not have been perfect (I didn't have time to change them in the short period when I saw the deer and needed to take this shot), I'm ecstatically happy with it. One of those "once in a blue moon" shots that you're never sure you can actually get.

There is still so much to learn with photography, and room to keep growing...but it means a lot that I've reached the point where I can see an opportunity and take advantage of it to end the night with a shot like this.